We have a contractual question for you - should you feel the desire to take it on. Early last spring (2013) we paid to have a listing for ou...

Question

We have a contractual question for you - should you feel the desire to take it on. Early last spring (2013) we paid to have a listing for our home on ForSaleByOwner.com. All of the marketing in the listing, i.e.: written, photos & video, were done by us. It is an infinite listing until we decide to take it down. After six fruitless months, we listed it with a realtor which placed the house on the MLS. We have since renewed the listing with the realtor which does not expire until early November. In the meantime, our FSBO is still "out there".

We have a contractual question for you - should you feel the desire to take it on. Early last spring (2013) we paid to have a listing for our home on ForSaleByOwner.com. All of the marketing in the listing, i.e.: written, photos & video, were done by us. It is an infinite listing until we decide to take it down. After six fruitless months, we listed it with a realtor which placed the house on the MLS. We have since renewed the listing with the realtor which does not expire until early November. In the meantime, our FSBO is still "out there".

Last night we received a call from an interested party who had found our listing on the FSBO sight - which provided direct contact to us via phone & email. The interested party and I discussed the fact that our home is under contract with a realtor and they are willing to wait until our listing expires to move forward. Our question is: can we legally allow the interested party to LOOK at our property while under contract with a realtor, with the possibility of accepting an offer after our realtor listing expires?

Answer

Take a look at your listing contract - particularly the part about extending the listing. Under the standard WB-1 listing contract, the listing is extended for a year for a "Protected Buyer." Then take a look at the definition of "Protected Buyer" in the contract. I think you may find that the course of action you describe may arguably turn this buyer into a "Protected Buyer" thereby extending the listing for a year beyond the original term. If you have more questions feel free to contact me through my website at www.knollgreller.com.